


Keep Your Head Down

by protos_metazu_ison (larkspyt)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, professor!Harrison Wells, student!Barry Allen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 07:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5198054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larkspyt/pseuds/protos_metazu_ison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry would have enjoyed this week's guest lecturer had he not completely humiliated himself the last time he saw Harrison Wells.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep Your Head Down

Barry kept his head down as Dr. Wells looked up from his notes to survey the small room. 

They’ve brought in more chairs, but people were still trying to get in. Word had spread that Harrison Wells was the guest lecturer and the nondescript room in the Jefferson building, which usually only saw 20 people at the most, now had to accommodate more than double that number. 

Barry was grateful. 

The more people there were, the less likely Dr. Wells would take notice of him. The last time Barry had seen Dr. Wells, he had been so nervous he'd spilled his coffee onto Dr. Wells's shirt and had ran, mortified, from the conference he had been looking forward to all year. That Barry had a cup from CC Jitters right now felt like the universe playing a cruel in-joke. He dragged his cup further from the edge of the table so that there would be no accidental spilling this time. 

One hour into the lecture and Barry began to believe that the universe might not hate him after all, after all. 

Dr. Wells was as engaging as usual as he gave his lecture, interspersed with asides about Star Labs current progress with the particle accelerator and jibes at Mercury Labs, which aroused polite laughter. Barry eventually forgot his embarrassment and lifted his head, taking notes, underlining the subjects he wanted to review at leisure. 

With half an hour to go, Dr. Wells’s concluded his points and opened the floor, at which point Barry quickly ducked his head again. 

Every time someone had a question, Dr. Wells paused to consider it, his electric blue eyes twinkling if it was a particularly interesting question. Then he would pace around the room as he answered, even though space was limited. 

Whenever Dr. Wells drew too close to his seat, Barry would duck his head and pretend he was writing down something important when, in fact, all he did was scribble, _oh my gosh, low profile, low profile, I hope Iris is cooking tonight_ , and the like. 

Then Dr. Wells said something about dark matter that had Barry scribbling in earnest and when he raised his head, he saw a pair of dark-clad legs in front of him. Barry swallowed and looked back down at his notes. 

It didn’t mean anything. Just because Dr. Wells stopped in front of his table, it didn’t mean anythi- 

Dr. Wells picked up Barry’s cup of coffee. Barry was so surprised that he looked up and saw Dr. Wells smirking at him as he took a sip. 

Barry felt the tips of his ears burning. 

Dr. Wells put his coffee cup back down on the table and said, “Talent and passion are always welcome at Star Labs. I know your professor only accepts the exceptional in his class. Should any of you wish to apply for an internship, don’t hesitate to send me an email.”

The entire classroom gave Dr. Wells a round of applause at the end of the session. At least half remained behind to talk with him. 

Barry tried to sneak out with the throng but Dr. Wells said, “It was nice to see you again, Mr. Allen, but we really do need to talk about my dry cleaning.” 

Barry’s classmates threw curious looks at him. Barry opened his mouth, without knowing what he planned to say. What came out was: “Of course, I’d love to talk about your dry cleaning.” His classmates laughed, but Barry didn’t notice because Dr. Wells’s eyes have gone dark, which in turn made Barry's mouth run dry. “I’ll email,” said Barry in a half-strangled voice. 

One side of Dr. Wells’s lips quirked up. “Make sure that you do, Mr. Allen.” The laser focus of his blue gaze scorched. “Make sure that you do.” 

Barry left the classroom and flung his cup into the nearest bin. He was never having coffee in front of Harrison Wells ever again.


End file.
